The Effects Of Caffeinated Energy Drinks On Athletes Essay

This study targets the physical effect of caffeinated energy drinks on athletes in team sports, primarily the capacity of the participants to perform repeated sprints during a simulated match. Caffeine is a natural central nervous system stimulant. It is considered a drug that if is overly consumed can be dangerous for one’s body. Caffeine is a temporary energy booster that improves mood and alertness for most people, mainly athletes. It can be an eye-opener in the morning, could be drunk or eaten on practice brakes, and for some, it just became a habit that they cannot go through a day without a cup of coffee before exiting their doorways. Furthermore, it requires good health and stamina for athletes to perform throughout the game particularly the one in teams, such as rugby soccer, and volleyball. Have you ever wondered how their practices are like? How intense their exercises are? Coaches demand intense focus and will to push athletes to their maximum limit but some are still not satisfied, thus some athletes use caffeine as a stimulant to help them train better and for a longer duration. Methods To do this research, multiple key terms and references were used in the academic database search online to find what is needed. First, it started with just the topic Side Effects of Caffeine on Athletes, from the year 1950 to the present, and only in PDF full text. However, it was broad so it was narrowed down to Side Effects of Caffeine on Individual Sport, with the same yearShow MoreRelatedEffects Of Caffeine On Elite Athletes Essay1516 Words   |  7 PagesThis study focuses on the effects of ingested caffeinated energy drink compared to placebo in three different sports, rugby, soccer, and volleyball. Each sport had a dissimilar number of participants, including male and female. The effects were analyzed under different circumstances in each sport performed. A few materials were used during the activities to monitor precisely the changes in all participants’ bodies. This study illustrates significant positive changes and improvement in all participants’Read MoreCaf feine And Sport Performance : Caffeine Is The Most Loved And Widely Used Stimulants1538 Words   |  7 Pagesdietary sources, such as coffee, tea, chocolate, some soda and energy drinks, as well as some nonprescription medications. It is considered as a legal drug and consumed by all people in the society. Some people believed that that caffeine is good for healthy adults because it keep them awake, boost up their memories, as well as improve their metabolism and mental alertness. However, some people believed that caffeine brings negative side effects because it will cause restlessness, insomnia, vomiting, andRead MoreRed Bulls Marketing Strategies1380 Words   |  6 Pagesprimarily on selling their energy drinks to young consumers, and extreme sports athletes. Adolescent and young adult consumers are often risk takers and are willing to consume anything that will make them feel alive and energized. â€Å"To build brand image, Mateschitz used grassroots sales tactics that got co llege students and night clubbers to roll over in sweet surrender, like puppies awaiting chest rubs† (Lidz). Red Bull’s sports event marketing on professional athletes created the gateway to theirRead MoreCaffeine And Its Effects On Caffeine915 Words   |  4 Pagestons of energy and sitting still feels almost impossible. You have most likely experienced this feeling whether it be from eating too much candy, or having too many caffeinated, sugary drinks. Attention Getter: Many of you probably drink pop, coffee, or other drinks containing some amount of caffeine. Caffeine has become more and more common, and most people don’t think too much about it. Even if you only rarely consume caffeinated drinks, it’s still important to know what these drinks are doingRead MoreEnergy Drinks: Liquid Meth?1201 Words   |  5 PagesGeerling ENC1101 5 February 2013 Energy Drinks: Liquid Meth? Over the last decade, drinks containing high amounts of caffeine, sugar, and other ingredients that increase energy have been rapidly growing in popularity. Clearly these beverages are known as energy drinks. Energy drinks have gotten so popular that it is extremely rare to find a convenience store that doesn’t sell a variety of them. Students use energy drinks to cram the night before a test, athletes use them to exercise, party animalsRead MoreThe Energy Drink Industry : Red Bull Gmbh1193 Words   |  5 Pagesowned by an Austrian drink company, Red Bull GmbH. Red Bull was founded by International Marketing Director, Dietrich Mateschitz, in the mid 1980’s, who partnered with Thai manufacturer, Chaleo Yoovidhya, who had been selling his caffeinated beverage (KratingDaeng) in Thailand since 1976. Originally selling at $2.19 per 8 ounce can, Red Bull was marketed in the United States as an alternative to soft drinks created by Pepsi and Coca-Cola. Not only did people fi nd this drink an excellent alternativeRead MoreMonster Energy’s Pest Analysis: Essay1367 Words   |  6 Pagescentury into caffeinated beverages. They have taken on Red Bull recently to become the top leader in the market of energy drinks. This can be taken as an advantage and a threat to the company as they have been majorly depending on their Monster Energy drink product solely for revenue generation despite having a wide range of natural products in the juice and the soda segments. Monster Energy’s PEST analysis: Political: There are numerous ongoing attempts to ban caffeinated beveragesRead MoreThe Chemistry Of Energy Drinks1135 Words   |  5 PagesEnergy drinks are soda-like beverages that are chemically designed to boost your energy, performance, and increase stamina. Most of these drinks contain caffeine, sugar and many other ingredients including taurine, guarana, and ginseng. These products are generally marketed toward teanagers, students, athletes, and active people in general. As the popularity of these drinks increases so does the amount of reports they are receiving about the dangers of drinking these caffeinated substances. EnergyRead MoreThe Effects Of Caffeine On The Central Nervous System3576 Words   |  15 Pagesnervous system and aids in mobilizing free fatty acids which increases the use of fats as an energy source. (Desbrow 2007) This substance when consumed is distributed in intracellular fluid after crossing the blood-brain barrier. This results in the central nervous system, cardiovascular system, and smooth and skeletal muscle tissues being affected (Desbrow 2007). Tea, coffee, chocolate, soda, energy drinks, and pharmaceutical products, are just a few of the many products that contain caffeine. CaffeineRead MoreConsumption of Caffeine by Minors1621 Words   |  6 Pagescommon practice amongst teens to consume coffee as a part of an afterschool get together or as an energy booster in the morning. Many other teens consume highly caffeinated drinks that are known as energy drinks, even a can of coke has a very high amount of caffeine present in it. Consequently is caffeine an energy booster or a detriment to wellbeing. So should children be able to buy highly caffeinated products and how does the consumption of these products affect the community? Chemistry:

Exercise 40 Chi Squared Free Essays

Researchers routinely choose an ? -level of 0. 05 for testing their hypotheses. What are some experiments for which you might want a lower ? -level (e. We will write a custom essay sample on Exercise 40 Chi Squared or any similar topic only for you Order Now g. , 0. 01)? What are some situations in which you might accept a higher level (e. g. , 0. 1)? An alpha level of 0. 05 is arbitrary and was set as a standard by scientists. One of the key concepts in hypothesis testing is that of significance level or, the alpha level, which specifies the probability level for the evidence to be an unreasonable estimate. Unreasonable means that the estimate should not have taken its particular value unless some non-chance factor(s) had operated to alter the nature of the sample such that it was no longer representative of the population of interest. (Price, 2000) As a researcher, you have complete control over the value of this significance level. The alpha level should be considered based on the research context and of the researcher’s personal convictions about how strong they want the evidence to be, before concluding that a particular estimate is reasonable or unreasonable. Price, 2000) An alpha level of 0. 05 is the recommended norm for a two tailed test. The alpha level should be considered based on personal convictions of how strong you want your evidence to be. The alpha level is the probability or p-value that the researcher is willing to accept as significant. It can also be interpreted as the chance of making a Type 1 or Type 2 error. When you set a more stringent (smaller) alpha le vel, like . 01 or . 001, (which decreases the probability of making a Type I error) you increase the likelihood of making a Type II error. Hence, it is suggested that an alpha level of . 05 is a good compromise between the likelihoods of making Type I and Type II errors. An experiment where you may want a lower alpha level (e. g. , 0. 01) would be for example a drug study for coagulation times. You would want to be certain the drug is effective, therefore a lower alpha level would be prudent. Within this same drug study, you would accept a higher alpha level when looking for drug side-effects. (University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center , 2013) References Price, I. (2000). What Alpha Level? In I. Price, Inferential Statistics (p. Chapter 5). New England: University of New England. University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center . (2013). Hypothesis Testing . Retrieved March 21, 2013, from Biostatistics for the Clinician : http://www. uth. tmc. edu/uth_orgs/educ_dev/oser/L2_2. HTM 4DQ1 How would you explain the analysis of variance, assuming that your audience has not had a statistics class before? When examining the differences between two or more groups, you can use the analysis of variance which is known as ANOVA. This is a statistical technique that is used to compare the means or averages of more than two groups. There are three uses of ANOVA which are the one-way, the two-way and N-way Multivariate ANOVA. (Solutions, 2013) The determining factor when to use one of the â€Å"ways† is dependent upon how many â€Å"treatments† are used in the study. We use the term treatment because ANOVA originated in the 1920’s to test different treatments of fertilizers’ crop yields. (â€Å"Analysis of Variance,† 2012, p. 2) Here, we will cover the one-way and the two-way ANOVA. The one-way between groups, ANOVA is used when you want to test the difference between two or more groups. This is the simplest version of ANOVA. (Crossman, 2013) This could be used for example in a study on the ages of patients on different cardiac medications. Here we are only looking at the various ages of patients. The two-way ANOVA between groups is used to look at complex groupings. (Crossman, 2013) For example, the patient’s ages in the previous example could be extended to include the patients from other countries to see if the ages vary from those in the U. S. So you would have three two effects from this ANOVA: the effect of the ages and the effect of abroad versus local. Using ANOVA in this study, you could also add diet to see if there is any association between cardiac meds, patient’s ages, and differences of abroad versus local. ANOVA creates a way to test several null hypotheses at the same time. (Solutions, 2013) There are however, certain assumptions that need to be met for true comparison of means prior to conducting the analysis which are: 1. The population in which samples are drawn should be normally distributed. 2. Independent of case: the sample cases should be independent of each other. 3. Homogeneity: Homogeneity means that the variance between the groups should be approximately equal. (Solutions, 2013) â€Å"ANOVA is used very commonly in business, medicine or in psychology research. In business, ANOVA can be used to compare the sales of different designs based on different factors. A psychology researcher can use ANOVA to compare the different attitude or behavior in people and whether or not they are the same depending on certain factors. In medical research, ANOVA is used to test the effectiveness of a drug†. Solutions, 2013) References Chapter Fourteen Analysis of Variance. (2012). Retrieved from www. ssc. wisc. edu/~aaradill/310_spring2012_chapter14. pdf Crossman, A. (2013). Analysis of Variance. Retrieved March 25, 2013, from About. com: Sociology: http://sociology. about. com/od/Statistics/a/Analysis-of-variance. htm Solutions, S. (2013). Analysis of Variance. Retrieved March 25, 2013, from Statistics Solutions: http://www. statisticssolutions. com/academic-solutions/resources/directory-of-statistical-analyses/analysis-of-variance/ What is an interaction? Describe an example; what are the variables within your population (work, social, academic, etc. ) for which you might expect interactions? An interaction is the variation among the differences between means for different levels of one factor over different levels of the other factor. (Easton McColl, 2013) In statistics, an interaction may occur when considering the relationship among three or more variables. It describes a situation in which the simultaneous influence of two variables on a third is not additive. (PediaView. om, 2013) For example, an intra-operative vascular study on the use of gelfoam for topical hemostasis is being conducted. Half of the surgical patients received gelfoam with normal saline, and the other half received gelfoam with topical thrombin 5,000units/5cc of normal saline. All of the surgical patients received IV protamine to reverse the IV heparin. It was found that gelfoam with normal saline alone was effective, and gelfoam with t opical thrombin alone was effective in reducing bleeding in the operative site (main effect of gelfoam and main effect of gelfoam and topical thrombin with IV protamine). Also, for those patients who didn’t receive the thrombin, the gelfoam worked equally well (main effect of gelfoam); those who received gelfoam and normal saline got the benefits of both (main effect of gelfoam and main effect of IV protamine). However, it was found that those patients who receive gelfoam and topical thrombin got the benefits of both plus a bonus, an interaction effect (main effect of gelfoam with thrombin and the main effect of protamine plus an interaction effect). Reference Easton, V. , McColl, J. (2013). Design of experiments ANOVA. Retrieved March 25, 2013, from Statistics Glossary: http://www. stats. gla. ac. uk/steps/glossary/anova. html#intern PediaView. com. (2013). Interaction (Statistics). Retrieved March 25, 2013, from PediaView. com: http://pediaview. com/openpedia/Interaction_(statistics) 5DQ1 What is an example in the world around you for which you would use a Chi-square analysis? 5DQ2 Now that you are familiar with the basic concepts of statistics, what are some examples of when you have seen or heard statistics used inappropriately? How to cite Exercise 40 Chi Squared, Papers

Mystic Monk Coffee Case Study free essay sample

1) In terms of its management and method of achieving objectives, Gore’s associates is very unique. Some impressive components of Gore Company are how the workforce/associates is set up in terms of innovation and cohesiveness, involvement of coaches and building and promoting of relationships and how less authoritative and hierarchical the company is. This is based on the fact that employees address each other by their first name and they are not obliged to disclose all information to their superiors, building company cohesiveness. It can also be seen that the company is well managed due to their sales level and ability to expand throughout the globe. These practices have broken the stereotypes taught in business school. 2) As unique as these companies are to one another, the competitive edge focuses around two main factors which are differentiation and quality. The primary goal of W.L. Gore was to create differentiated products to satisfy customer needs using PTFE and ePTFE methods and styles, clearly using a broad differentiation strategy as they appealing to a variety of customers in the areas of Electronics, Fabrics, Industrial Materials and Medicine. We will write a custom essay sample on Mystic Monk Coffee Case Study or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page 3) One key approach used by W.L. Gore is that of their differentiated approach to leadership. This included many aspects such as having a variety of leaders such as plant leaders and functional leaders to handle various special tasks without consolidation of higher management. Also the reduction of job titles and hierarchy level allowed for better flow of information in the company which meant that there were faster transfers of information between associates which would contain ideas that the company can use to maintain or improve their current competitive advantage. Another aspect to maintaining their competitive advantage was through the use of rewards which were linked to achieving their goals and strategies. 4) The culture at Gore is based around oral communication and the building  and maintaining of relationships, flexible leadership styles and rewards. This was because W.L. Gore believed that these factors would allow for a more direct transfer for information and the building of relationships would allow for a better productivity level and overall running of the enterprise. It can be argued that this company’s culture is healthy and largely supportive of good strategy execution due to the fact that by building relationships, having flexible leader styles and a stable reward system, new ideas on differentiation and innovation of can come about so which can be consider by management. This would aid in potentially improving their competitive advantage by having new productions which are different from competitors. 5) Gore instills in culture through the use of various coaches/mentors, a system called â€Å"Gorecom,† for communication purposes and monetary rewards for contributions by salespeople and other employees. The role of monetary rewards through pay and non-monetary rewards through stocks served as a means of instilling and maintaining the company’s culture and strategy. This was because when objective are achieved both in the long and short-term, these rewards were given. Therefore, employees would work along the lines of what allows them rewards and this would maintain the culture of the organization. Due to this, it should not be difficult for Gore to staff managers to maintain and direct employees to upkeep the culture. 6) W.L. Gore’s view of leadership differs greatly from most companies. It was based on a dynamic and fluid process. Individuals who were not hierarchical leaders would sometimes step into lead based on factors such as knowledge of an areas or if they possessed certain skills. Leadership was basically seen as being without titles, hierarchy or official structure. Based on their culture of building relationships and being flexible it can be seen that leaderships does not play a significantly important role in the company. 7) Gore aid in achieving a cross-functional fit across their diverse areas due to the fact that they spread their culture and factors of it across the entire company. This culture aided in providing control over decentralized  operations due to the factors such as flexibility. Associates in various sections could be easily appointed leaders when needed and due to their expertise they would be able to maintain control and direct resources efficiently towards achieving the objectives of the section. This, couple with other factors such as reward pay, would help to maintain culture throughout the organization. 8) A major factor W.L. Gore Company would have to take into consideration is the fact that markets are constantly changing. Therefore the company would have to change some of its cultural factors and practices. They may need to interact on a more virtual level as rapidly changing markets would hinder travel between countries due to cost. They would also need to conduct research to find out how much of their businesses would still be in demand and then take the necessary action to either expand or close down the business.

Jazz The Devils Music Essay Example

Jazz: The Devils Music Paper Jazz was developed in the 1920s as a mix of African-American traditions and white middle-class ideals. This genre of music was called â€Å"the devil’s music† for it often led to wild and energetic dancing, and the force of racism led to many stereotypes and cruel thoughts.Jazz was radical and wild.jazz was a new style of music that started in America with many foreign influences.Talented musicians like Jelly Roll Morton and Louis Armstrong helped jazz rise in popularity. This music is what shaped modern music into what it is today. Jazz music originated in New Orleans, Louisiana in the early 1900s.The sound of jazz mixed African rhythms with European harmonies.This allowed for the musicians to extend their own voice with the instrument, and also stay melodic at the same time (Jazz in America).New Orleans was the perfect crock pot for all of this to be created.The city had a port that encouraged different people to interact.Cultures began to mix and jazz was born. Initially, many people were against this new form of music.Doctor E. Elliot Rawling said in an interview with a magazine: â€Å"The form of music called jazz, is just as intoxicating as morphine or cocaine: it is just as harmful.† (Rawling)People looked at jazz as a dark and corrupt thing.The music captured a youthful rebellion in its sound.The music encouraged dancing that was considered sinful.This is how jazz music earned the nickname â€Å"the devil’s music†.It was against anything that was thought of as normal in the 1920s. We will write a custom essay sample on Jazz: The Devils Music specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Jazz: The Devils Music specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Jazz: The Devils Music specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Jazz music was very influential.Jazz helped create many of the most popular genres of music today.These genres include: rock and roll, hip-hop, pop, and country.Jazz influenced many memorable musicians.The Beatles may not have had their signature sound without the proper influence; jazz.Paul Mccartney once stated that he â€Å"knew and loved old jazz† (AAJ Staff).Jazz influenced United States culture by reachi

Unethical Behavior Essays

Unethical Behavior Essays Unethical Behavior Essay Unethical Behavior Essay Impacts of Unethical Behavior Unethical actions can affect millions of individuals creating hardship in personal lives. The Enron case directly created this action. The accountants are given the duty of figuring and providing information of a company’s financial standing. This information provides investors an important resource in making the decision of investing in a company, or not investing in a company. The plague of greed, poor decisions, and unethical behavior flourishes at times through a company. This plague can potentially affect millions of serious investors. This is the root of the Enron case. The old saying, one small lie creates a bigger lie, was the beginning of Enron’s downfall. People of authority made the decision to lie on the on the income statement which over time this small lie turned out to be a multi-billion dollar crumble. Billions of dollars of investors money was taken as the company fell to nothing. In this case Authur Anderson was a key contributor to the endless unethical behavior and lies that flourished in this case. This person was in charge of the auditing and lied about the untruthful information regarding the income and equity value. Adding on to that, Enron eventually released that they were involved in numerous partnerships which were only created to hide the debt and trading losses. There were internal sources that did try to warn investors about the unethical accounting practices but nobody really listened or comprehended the warning. This lack of comprehension and possible communication crushed the company’s foundation and millions of investors lost their financial investment. I believe I would have noticed an error like this, or at least noticed it before it reach the level it did of billions. I would have informed the authority of the company and continued up the chain of command until action was taken. This type of action may cost me my job, but it would have saved thousands of other jobs. This outlandish, unethical, unacceptable behavior flourished a plague of billions of dollars lost, and created thousands of jobs to come to an end. Regulatory Bodies The Internal Revenue Service, or IRS is probably one of the most well known regulatory body. The main purpose of this body is to impose and manage the internal revenue law. The IRS is responsible for tax collection. Another regulatory body is Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC. This regulatory body requires companies to follow the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and also watch security. The Financial Accounting Foundation, or FAF, is in charge of a few boards and councils such as the government accounting standards advisory council, the administration and finances of the financial accounting standards board, the financial accounting standards advisory council, and the governmental accounting standards board. The Financial Accounting Standard Board, or FASM deals with the standards of non-governmental financial reporting and accounting. The Governmental Accounting Standards Board generates GAAP for both local and state government. Another regulatory body is the federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board, or FASAB which was created to spread federal accounting standards after consideration of the budgetary and financial information needs of congressional groups, federal financial information users, citizens, and executive agencies. The International Accounting Standards Board, or IASB was developed to create standards of accounting by an international consultation process. The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, or PCAOB was developed through the creation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to protect investors and their investments. The protection is from auditors of public traded companies. Last but not least is the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, or ACIPA which functions to create the reporting standards along with financial accounting standards.

How to Ask Polite Questions in English

How to Ask Polite Questions in English There are three types of questions in English: direct, indirect, and question tags. Direct and indirect questions are used to ask for information you do not know, while question tags  are generally used to clarify or confirm the information you think you know. Each of these three question types  can be used politely, but certain indirect forms are more formal and polite than other types of questions. One form to avoid when asking for things is the imperative form. Saying Give me that (imperative) instead of Could you give me that (indirect) puts you at risk of sounding rude. To learn more about how to ask polite questions, and use each form correctly, check out the overview below. Asking Direct Questions Direct questions are either yes/no questions such as Are you married?  or information questions such as Where do you live? Direct questions ask for information immediately without including  extra language such as I wonder or Can you tell me. Construction Direct questions place the helping verb before the subject of the question:   (Question word) Helping Verb Subject Verb Objects ? Where do you work?Are they coming to the party?How long has she worked for this company?What are you doing here? Making Direct Questions Polite Direct questions can seem abrupt or even impolite at times, especially when asked by a stranger. For example, if you come up to someone and ask: Does the tram stop here?What time is it?Can you move?Are you sad? There is nothing wrong with asking questions in this manner, but to sound more polite, its very common to add excuse me or pardon me at the beginning of a question. For example: Excuse me, when does the bus leave?Excuse me, what time is it?Pardon me, which form do I need?Pardon me, may I sit here? Key Words That Make Direct Questions More Polite In informal situations, one could use the word can in a direct sentence. In the United States, can is considered to be incorrect for written English in particular because, in the past, it was not a word used when asking for something. Saying May I have instead of Can I have is preferred in the U.S. In the United Kingdom, the word is not frowned upon. Cambridge University publishes English teaching materials with the phrase Can you lend me, Can I have, etc. In both countries, questions with can are made more polite by using could: Excuse me, could you help me pick this up?Pardon me, could you help me?Pardon me, could you give me a hand?Could you  explain this to me? Would can also be used to make questions more polite: Would you lend me a hand with the wash?Would you mind if I sat here?Would you let me borrow your pencil?Would you like something to eat? Another way of making direct questions more polite is to add please at the end of the question. Please should not appear at the beginning of the question: Could you fill in this form, please?Could you help me, please?Can I have more soup, please? May is used as a formal means to ask for permission and is very polite. It is usually used with I, and sometimes we. May I come in, please?May I use the telephone?May we help you this evening?May we make a suggestion? Asking Indirect Questions to Be Especially Polite Using indirect question forms is especially polite. Indirect questions request the same information as direct questions, but they are considered more formal. Notice that  indirect questions  begin with a phrase (I wonder, Do you think, Would you mind, etc.). Construction Indirect questions always begin with an introductory phrase and unlike direct questions, they do not invert the subject. To form an indirect question,  use an introductory phrase followed by question words for information questions, and if or whether for yes/no questions. Introductory Phrase Question Word/If/Whether Subject Helping Verb Main Verb? Can you tell me where he plays tennis?I wonder if you know what time it is.Do you think she will be able to come next week?Excuse me, do you know when the next bus leaves? Introductory phrase question word (or if) positive sentence I wonder if you could help me with this problem.Do you know when the next train leaves?Would you mind if I opened the window? NOTE: If you are asking a yes-no question, use if to connect the introductory phrase with the actual question statement. Do you know if she will come to the party?I wonder if you can answer a few questions.Can you tell me if he is married? Otherwise, use a question word where, when, why, or how to connect the two phrases. Using Question Tags for Clarification Question tags turn statements into questions. Depending on the intonation of the voice, they are used to verify information that we think is correct or to ask for more information. If the voice goes up at the end of the sentence, the person is asking for more information. If the voice drops, someone is confirming information that is known. Construction We can understand question tags as having two parts separated by a comma. The first part uses the subject followed by a helping verb as used in direct questions (Has she). The second part uses the opposite form of the helping verb followed by the same subject (Hasnt she). Subject Helping verb Objects ,   Opposite Helping Verb Subject? You live in New York, dont you?She hasnt studied French, has she?Were good friends, arent we?Ive met you before, havent I? Polite Questions Quiz First, identify which type of question is asked (i.e. direct, indirect, or question tag). Next, provide a missing word to fill in the gap to complete the question. Can you tell me ______ you live?They wont attend this class, _____ they?I wonder ______ you like chocolate or not.______ me, what time does the train leave?Excuse me, _____ you help me with my homework?Do you know how long Mark _____ been working for that company?_____ I make a suggestion?Excuse me, do you know _____ the next show begins? Answers wherewillif/whetherExcuse/Pardoncould/wouldhasMaywhen / what time

Feature story base on interview Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Feature story base on interview - Essay Example you are currently placed, if you believe that you have it in you, you are today more likely to fit into the increasingly diverse and inclusive world of PR. In a modern day PR firm you are very prone to find PR teams comprising of generously assorted misfits like self style writers and editors, compilers of cheap record books, university drop outs, techno geeks, part time waiters, blog writers, fitness enthusiasts and what not. It’s a brave new world. A simpleton may construe this to mean that the standards of contemporary PR professionals have deteriorated abysmally. No sir, it is nothing like that. The real thing is that the next generation of PR professionals not only avoid giving in to ego hassles, when it comes to gaining experience, but a grass root level insight into the mass consciousness actually endows them with an eye for value and mass interest. Yet, nobody will advice the likely aspirants to drop on the basics because many acclaimed PR professionals did so. Having a sound academic base and taking care to allay the parental anxieties by securing good grades curtails much unwanted stress and opposition. In fact, doing is more likely to provide you with the much needed emotional support and financial backup, which you will need during the initial years. If the contemporary PR environment defined by multimedia portals and a diverse consumer base has increased opportunities for the newcomers, it has at the same time curtailed the honeymoon periods that the editors could extend to the newcomers. The saving grace is that as in any other vocation, in PR also, some old fashioned values still hold. Young professionals who enter the world of PR because they have a passion for it are more likely to make it, as compared to those who enter, lured by the craze for money. The learning graph is often long and arduous, marked by much bitter criticism, disappointments and ample failures. Therefore, only those who have a real interest, manage to hold on and sustain

Insurance Law Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Insurance Law - Dissertation Example Indeed in the current scenario of uncertainties and risks, both within and outside the home, insurance in various areas of business and personal domain has increasingly become critical part of improved lifestyle (Ward, 2000). But interestingly, while the concept of insurance is similar the format of insurance, especially the criteria of framework and regulation of insurance differs significantly in Islamic countries like Saudi Arabia and western countries like UK. In the recent times, Islamic insurance has rapidly emerged as one of the most popular and also a highly effective strategy to reduce financial risk of the individuals and the government as a whole (Anderson, 1976; Habshi & Othman, 1997; Ahmad, 1972). Indeed, the growth and penetration of Islamic insurance across the non Islamic countries has been seen as a positive trend in the insurance sector. The paper would therefore, be focusing on the question as to why should there be development of Islamic insurance in Saudi Arabia and UK? Meaning of Islamic Insurance Islamic insurance is mainly guided by Shariah or Islamic laws that forbid business based on unethical practices. Various products of insurance are strongly influenced by Shariah principles that prohibit gain through means like gambling, uncertainties or interest income (Mortuza, 1989; Ismail, 1997,98). Uncertainties are involved in life insurance as the outcome is unknown at the time of entering into contract and could vary. Gambling refers to gain of wealth under some defined conditions and interest income is unethical as it is not reward against hard work (Maysami, 1998; Sharif, 1997; Siddiqui, 1971). Thus, new concept of insurance emerged under ‘Takaful’ that worked within the precincts of Islamic laws. Islamic laws fundamentally rely on equitable distribution of wealth. Takaful is based on the ethical practices and is free from gambling, uncertainties and interest income (Ahmad, 2009: Anwar, 2008; and Saleh, 1986). It broadly ref ers to contributions made by individuals to be used in times of crisis or need. Rather than individuals, the family as a whole becomes the main beneficiary. Stagg-Massey (2007) state that Takaful has been taken from ‘kafal’ which is an Arabic word that means guaranteeing each other and taking care of each other’s needs. Thus, Takaful is a cooperative mechanism that promotes fair practice and spreads the risks and reduces financial loss suffered by an individual within the group. Need for Islamic insurance in Saudi Arabia and UK Middle East and African nations have lagged behind in insurance primarily because of the restraints imposed by religion and the prevalent poverty of the region. The development processes and growth have become major paradigms that necessitate insurance coverage. After 1970s, the discovery of oil and gases in the Gulf region has transformed the economy of the region. The large investment in the infrastructure and rapid growth in internation al trade has spurred the need for insurance amongst the working and non working population of the oil rich countries. Takaful not only facilitates the poor to survive with dignity under excruciating circumstances but also encourages ethical practices that are fair and justified (SAMA). Saudi Arabia being a leading Islamic nation is therefore morally bound to promote Takaful. In western countries like UK, insurance has fast transformed into major industry that is motivated by vested interests of making profit by exploiting the

Community Health Promotion Tool Essay Example for Free

Community Health Promotion Tool Essay Kimberly Thomas: Good Evening, I am Kimberly Thomas. I’m interviewing Hypertension what is a disorder that affects cardiovascular system. Let’s talk about the population and treatment for hypertension. There are a lot of medications for hypertension. What is hypertension? Where do you start for treatment? Hypertension: Hypertension is high blood pressure. Well, there are several medication treatments for hypertension. Most doctor start patients with hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ), which is a diuretic. Diuretics are basically known as a water pill, which helps remove excess sodium and water from the body. Second most common medicine for hypertension is beta blockers. Beta blockers help the heart to beat a slower pace with less force. Again, there are several other medication treatments for hypertension, and your primary care physicians will discuss what options are best for you. Kimberly Thomas: Ok, thank you. Who are at risk of hypertension? Hypertension: There are some cultures that are more at risk than others. However, certain conditions and habits can put anyone at risk for high blood pressure. According to Hypertension (n.d.), â€Å"Its more common in African American adults than in Caucasian or Hispanic American adults.† African Americans tend to get high blood pressure early in life. Also, Puerto Rican adults have higher rates of hypertension than any other Hispanic group. Kimberly Thomas: Why do you think African Americans and Puerto Ricans are more at risk than any other culture? Hypertension: There are several factors why these two cultures are more at risk than other cultures. According to Hypertension (n.d.), â€Å"The main factor is the choice of food both cultures eat. Both cultures diet include too much salt.† Kimberly Thomas: Heredity is a factor correct? Can the individual manage some of the risk factors? Hypertension: Yes to both of your questions. There are a few things you can do to manage your high blood pressure. If you’re overweight, it’s highly recommend that you start exercising. Eat healthy food low in saturated fat, Trans fat, cholesterol and salt. Limit your alcohol intake, and stop smoking. Always, take medicine the way your doctor tells you. Kimberly Thomas: I absolutely agree with that. Kimberly Thomas: What about impact it has on cost? Hypertension: According to Hypertension (n.d.), â€Å"In 2010, high blood pressure was projected to cost the United States $93.5 billion in health care services, medications, and missed days of work.† Kimberly Thomas: How does hypertension impact the society? Hypertension: The number 1 cause of death in the United States throughout most of the 20th century. Unfortunately, whether the hypertension is treated or untreated, only 34% of Americans with hypertension have their blood pressure controlled to 140/90. An estimated 30 to 35 million Americans have uncontrolled hypertension, and are therefore at unduly increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Kimberly Thomas: I completely agree with you. I think the number one problem we still have today is that there are many people out there who are not being adequately treated. People who are denial of their problem, is unfortunate because there is help for them. Kimberly Thomas: Well, that’s all for today and Thank you for your time. References: Hypertension. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/hypertension/faqs.htm http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-pressure/basics/definition/con-20019580

Freudian Analysis of Hamlet Essay -- GCSE English Literature Coursewor

Freudian Analysis of Hamlet As a child, Shakespeare’s Hamlet had experienced the warmest affection for his mother, and this, as is always so, had contained the elements of a disguised erotic quality, still more so in infancy. The presence of two traits in the Queen's character accord with this assumption, namely her markedly sensual nature and her passionate fondness for her son. The former is indicated in too many places in the play to need specific reference, and is generally recognized. The latter is also manifest: Claudius says for instance (79), "The Queen his mother lives almost by his looks". Nevertheless Hamlet appears to have with more or less success weaned himself from her and to have fallen in love with Ophelia. The precise nature of his original feeling for Ophelia is a little obscure. We may assume that at least in part it was composed of a normal love for a prospective bride, though the extravagance of the language used (the passionate need for absolute certainty, etc.) suggests a somewhat morbid frame of mind. There are indications that even here the influence of the old attraction for the mother is still exerting itself. Although some writers, following Goethe, see in ophelia many traits of resemblance to the Queen, perhaps just as striking are the traits contrasting with those of the Queen. [...] Now comes the father's death and the mother's second marriage. The association of the idea of sexuality with his mother, buried since infancy, can no longer be concealed from his consciousness. As Bradley well says: "Her son was forced to see in her action not only an astounding shallowness of feeling, but an eruption of coarse sensuality, 'rank and gross,' speeding post-haste to its horrible delight"... ...d in continuing to "repress" the former he must strive to ignore, to condone, and if possible even forget the latter;his moral fate is bound up with his uncle's for good or ill. In reality his uncle incorporates the deepest and most buried part of his own personality, so that he cannot kill him without also killing himself. This solution, one closely akin to what Freud has shown to be the motive of suicide in melancholia, is actually the one that Hamlet finally adopts. The course of alternate action and inaction that he embarks on, and the provocations he gives to his suspicious uncle, can lead to no other end than to his own ruin and, incidentally, to that of his uncle. Only when he has made the final sacrifice and brought himself to the door of death is he free to fulfil his duty, to avenge his father, and to slay his other self — his uncle.

Om Strategy Analysis

OM analysis of Jordan Grand Prix With the recession periods coming of the global economy, it even increases the competition pressure for sponsorship money with more and more competitiveness. So it becomes more and more significant for every corporate to takes some effective measures in the operational management for a better operational performance. In this thesis, the author analyzes the case of Jordan Grand Prix in the aspect of planning and Control, Quality Management, Project Management and operational improvement.Specifically, it points out the measures and strategies Jordan takes in the process of advantage pursuit in competitiveness. For the success of Jordan Grand Prix, who want to test their capacity and future ability for new challenges, its main operational skills and change can be summarized as the formula one brand, three unique objectives, team work and more than five deep dives for a better management. Planning and Control The Planning and Control in OM of Jordan Grand Prix can be analyzed from Sequencing, Scheduling, Inventory and Queuing.In sequencing, since the aim of Jordan Grand Prix is to keep and pursue the competitive advantage, so the relevant lap factors should be optimized and controlled, like reducing and minimizing lap times in qualifying and racing, streamlining its key processes. While it is a consulting company but not a designing or building firm, several management measures are taken. The new design works are ? nished as quickly as possible firstly. Then the examining designs and discussed management processes are also done quickly. Thirdly, every part and skill on the ? or can effect change once change happens, which is improved. Moreover, as it increases the speed, it also has a right direction to go. Before it proposes a plan for working together with other team, it should know exactly where the machine is going, and how it could be made to run more smoothly. In scheduling, an interconnected network of people is allocated wor ks. people like car design,manufacture, test engineers, sales businessmen, and even the investors and the sponsors form a vast web, and they work together with the same objectives in different parts.In Formula One, money is thought of time from the aspect of the queuing. Jordan Grand Prix demands the focus in driver and engineer, which could have some effect on faster lap times and the ? rst sight of the ? nishing line.. In the second deep dive, it is the parts and supplies team in inventory. The supplier for outside materials seem be not in? uenced by the team, which is hardly controlled. In Deep Dive 4, there is an understanding for Jordan Grand Prix in detail and ground-up, including in the aspect of operations and resources. These operational strategies are expressed as the Jordan business strategy.Here, Jordan ? rstly finds ways to get higher efficiencies, and profit. It concentrates as the financial generation, which is the best ways to for keeping valuable personnel. Secondly , Jordan integrates the knowledge gathered at the beginning of the Deep Dive. These strategies are found out according to the Jordan Grand Prix’s overall strategy, which is the winner’s circle of the World Championship, a success in ? nance and being a family for workers. Quality Management In Formula One, every constructor and driver can understand their own performance exactly.Since the decisions of the business and companies execution can be judged according to that leader board, there is no permission for wrongdoing. On the other hand, Jordan is a quick developing firm with small scale, so it demands visible results in the competitive racing at once; so the more fast of each stage work is finished, the better the car is for the race. In the first deep dive, better communication can bring the pattern makers lots of information and organize better suppliers to stop the selection process ,which can get a more, better and quick work.Finally, achievable goals were analy zed and established for the practical result. A system is designed to set up a better idea exchange and provide a path for the necessary information which is good for the decisions based on the fact. Decisions are made, implemented and reviewed more quickly in the situation of the right data at right time. It increases the form and structure at the same time the ? air and ? exibility are not taken away. Senior staffs are also given the fresh ways for getting the information performance at different stage.The challenge of the first deep dive is to retain the style of the best parts and get rid of the key trouble at the same time, and build up a clear road for managers to express their idea freely and in the organization. The goal focuses on every worker in Jordan, so that a sense of unity and pride in its successful results forms. Since Jordan does not like the immediate solutions, so every engagement is specially designed for the targets. These Deep Dives in further ahead are thus g iven, informed by the need of Jordan Grand Prix with an quite deepening understanding. Therefore, a good quality is arrived at.Operations Improvement Improvements can be made for better, which have relationship with the systematic change, and it is often throughout the whole factory and organizations. In Ian Clarkson and Eddie Jordan’s discussions, Ian expressed that the potential advantages of a partnership is quite clear; since the speed of the cycle dictates the speed of its bene? cial effects are brought. So each change are put together to make the car performance better. For Jordan Grand Prix, it has three inextricably linked objectives; and the performance is measured the expression of the car in each race.Specifically, it is the time cost to finish e each lap in race. Jordan does not copy that success of other successful corporations in the same industry, but put forward its three objectives. They are the goals of the championship in the world, a success in ? nance and a family to work. Those objectives are working together: the win or loss is related with everyone in the firm. With new working ways, which is aimed at getting the best results of every team member, Jordan can harmonize its results and plans.For its business process reengineering process, an approach for progress that try to redesign the operations along the customer was thought of, who focused on improvement but not the function traditionally. For the Deep Dive 3, it further focuses on the design process of the new car and the design improvements way during and after the Formula One. Project Management In this part, the tools and techniques used to make project management successful will be introduced. Jordan Grand Prix appreciates the role of project planning in project management, which can be understood from several aspects.For Formula one, it is a measure for success as well a brand. The interest and spread renders it a world brand, with the cars smooth lines and their speed p otent associations; Formula One is also a pure competition. The decision of Eddie Jordan is to find outside help to improve the performance of this business; moreover, Jordan Grand Prix also should get a better organized and quicker to change. Jordan Grand Prix and its partner work together and the combing progress yields. For this great progress, it needs good communication, low cost and teamwork.Jordan would not just move the success experience of Eddie Jordan, and it ranked the ? fth place in the 1991 Championship. After then, it sets up three objectives aims to get the ? rst in every contest. Since all people want Jordan to become a fast growth and success in ? nance; so Jordan Grand Prix starts with a family feeling and a great place to work. For Jordan, it has a family relative good atmosphere so that the deep dive 2 can be carried out better. ‘Family values’ is overhauled, to get rid of the weakness and does not worse its strengths.A network of friends inside and outside the team is useful if they add to the corporate strength and performance of Jordan Grand Prix. Process identi? es what needs to be done and systems tell how things are done. Structure concerns who does things, and how they are done within management. In the structure, the process work stream cares about how Jordan can reduce the time for parts operation with more and fast work. It also cares about the priorities, and Jordan’s experience to on the most important design. So management structures change.An understanding and practical management structures is built up, with clearly roles that allow person to spread more effectively in and out the organization, to make the senior management be the heart place of the decision-making process. Every process structure is viewed inside from Jordan and a wider whole part, to make sure each task’s accountability clear. The restructure is also done during the project. The design office restructure wants to save time and mo ney for Jordan. To reduce the lead times, the joint customer and staff team is put forward for the potential improvements. .

The Universal Credit Program: Project Management

Management This report is addressed to the Universal Credit Project Board. Number of words: 1582 Executive Summary The Universal Credit Programme has failed in many eyes because of a lack of good project management. I researched the reasons of the lack of good project management and come to some good conclusions on the following subjects: 1. Project Initiation The programme was underestimated and the goals where to optimistic, the effects of the project initiation are clearly linked back of the complications which appeared later on the project.For example the project has changed project manager 5 times because of a lack of transparency. The lack of transparency can be linked back to setting to many goals in the project initiation. The project should have research the details better on making an IT programme this big. 2. Project organisation and structure The programme has been approached with an agile method, a lot like scrum-method. The biggest mistake that was made is the lack of u se of an agile project framework. It is logical that a programme from this size always includes Waterfall project management'.But in the Universal Credit programme the waterfall-managing ethod was counterworking the agile approach that was used. The project also lacks of a good stakeholders communication department, the communication with the stakeholders has been a big problem with the Universal Credit programme. More details about these conclusions can be found in the rest of the report. Introduction to the report For the course Project Management (344SAM) I am asked to write an report addressed to the Universal Credit Project Board. This is regarding the bad publicity the project has gotten lately from the press.The case study consists of an article form Brian Wernham where he claims that the Universal Credit Program has suffered from bad Project Management and a â€Å"lack of transparency'. In my research I will only use the information available till 5 September 2013, because this is the date when the report was published. In my research I will be focussing on the following 2 subjects: 1. Project initiation Brief background on project For this project I will be do research on the project management of the Universal Credit Programme.This program is developed to make a single monthly payment instead of all sorts separately benefits and tax credit top-ups payments. This rogram includes a ‘subsidy to work, people will be encouraged to work this way. To establish this project there must be a solid and reliable IT system. A lot of calculations have to been made and a lot of external influences must be taken in account. I'm going to research: What where the project goals, scope, organisation, business case, constraints? Which organisation and structure has been used?At the end of the report I will write my conclusions and recommendations. Project Initiation When the project was initiated at the end of 2012, there was a lot criticism on the project. This w as mainly because of a lack of transparency; people didn't really know what the programme meant. 1 1(The Ethical Deficit of the Proposed Universal Credit, Harley Dean, 2012, The Political Quarterly, Vol. 83, No. 2) The project initiation can be divided in 5 segments, which I will describe separately.Project Goals They are a lot of project goals for the universal credits programme: Good outcomes for claimants, Improved health (mental health especially), Increase the overall level of competencies and qualifications. Get more people from welfare into work. Reduce the amount of people getting homeless. And there are a lot of smaller goals stated in the report. They want to aim to process 95% of new housing benefits within 1 5 days. Also all the claims will merely be online processed. 3 Scope Entrepreneurial Council Board, Corporate Strategy and Governance Board.Project Organisation The project organisation consists of: 1 . Project Manager 2. Administrative employee 3. Trainee's for staf f 4. Online development 5. Communications and marketing 6. WMT The Entrepreneurial Council Board and WMT monitor the project. Business case There is no business case in the Project initiation document (PID). Constraints The PID says: â€Å"The current financial constraint being placed on the Council means we need to be creative about how we continue to deliver our services† 2 The budget and the quality are fixed. l will discuss this part in part 2. ) 2 (Project Initiation document. rtf, Alan Robinson, 2012, https:// knowledgenub. local. gov. uk/) 3 (Project Initation document (PID), Ali Ghanimi (project manager), John Magness (Project sponsor), August 2012, https://knowledgehub. local. gov. uk/) Criticism on the project initiation I will criticise all the parts of the project initiation separately. The project has a lot of goals and sub-goals. This (as seen in the future) will lead to a lack of transparency because there can't be send out one universal project goal.Also becau se of this high amount of goals there will be a lack of focus within the own organisation and even at the project manager. Project organisation The project organisation is monitored by the WMT itself; it could be useful to have influences from external parties. Also as seen in the future the complexity of the IT- part of this program is underestimated in this report. There should be more focus on how this IT-part is going to be set up and what kind of recourses are needed to chieve this. There is stated that no detailed business case is required.As shown in the future it would have been useful if they have done this part more detailed. The report would have set more directions for the programme as a whole. The price and quality are going to be fixed, getting the price fixed for an programme this size will require a lot of research in advance of the programme starting. This will take a lot of time and money and will exceed the 100million maximum development money that was agreed of i n 2012 by the council office. 4 The universal credit has spent over 425 million pound on the development ofUniversal Credit, this could have been prevented by focussing more on the use of project management frameworks and a detailed business case which is supported with reliable research. 1 1 (Universal Credit, Incremental IT, Brian Wernham,2013, Course work briefing 344SAM, moodie) project INITIATION DOCUMENT (Pid) Project organisation and structure As seen in the previous part the project used ‘an agile development approach'. The costs and quality were fixed in advance. This is to ensure that the final product is really going to work.The development method, scrum, has been used, this is a flexible way of developing a roduct. The scrum was used without the use of a project management framework such as the Dynamic Systems Development. The programming was done by the scrum-like approach but as seen in section one of this report; this project has a lot of ‘big picture goal s'; these goals fixed and are mainly in the Waterfall' world. The board wanted a big up front design, which is crossing the scrum-like programming approach which is changing it's goals and methods in an much higher speed.This big picture is counterworking the programmers. Below a illustration how the water-scrum-fall model works. In the Universal Credit System the ‘scrum' didn't have a change to be agile, once they went in a direction it was impossible to â€Å"swim back†. 2 1 (Water-scrum-fall model, Cristian Mesaros, Marketing Manager ,2013, www. iquestgroup. com/en/iquest-news/water-scrum-fall-model-life-sciences') 2 (Universal Credit, Incremental IT, Brian Wernham,2013, Course work briefing 344SAM, moodle) The Overall governance structure is shown in the image below.It must be said that the project manager has been replaced 5 times in over a year of this programme running, how is this possible? The lack of transparency from day 1 has resulted in nclear targets. The project has been monitored by the WMT, this monitoring should have been more in collaborating with the lower-level mangers who where working with a way more flexible approach. Also is there a lack of a good stakeholders communication department, the communication with the stakeholders has been very bad and should have gotten more attention. (Preparing for Universal credit, London Borough of Lewisham local authority led pilot, August 2012, https://knowledgenub. local. gov. uk/) Conclusions The Universal Credit System is a project that has cost 4 times what was counted on. How is this possible and where can we put the blame? I'm going to give my conclusions on this research in 2 departments: Project Initiation The project had too much goals, which has lead to haziness for the overall The project has a lot of goals and sub-goals. This (as seen in the future) will lead to a lack of transparency because there cant be send out one universal project goal.Also money that was agreed of in 20 12 by the council office. Project organisation and structure The project has changed 5 times of project manager because of a lack of transparency, intern and extern. Credit programme. I think the board underestimated he complexity ot this programme; overall the Universal Credit programme should have used project management a lot more. Recommendations Below a list of recommendations I make on what could have done better on the Universal Credit programme: Divide the programme in separate parts, with separate goals.

International Relations Theory Essay Essays

International Relations Theory Essay Essays International Relations Theory Essay Essay International Relations Theory Essay Essay The survey of the international dealingss has traditionally focused on the survey of the causes of war and struggle between the provinces and the status of peace. However. in the twenty-first century we are more concerned with the inquiry of how the planetary dealingss can be identified. and with who lays the power of universe political relations. The planetary political relations and international dealingss constructs have been developed over centuries. The cardinal theories have established the normally recognized methods of explicating the relationships between the provinces. and the manner in which states conduct their concerns. We can separate between many strands of idea. each extended and frequently changeable. Therefore. it is difficult to specify which are the most just and had most purchase in the international dealingss or planetary political relations. However. we can surely foreground few. which are seen as the most of import or even important. One of them is Marxism. developed by Karl Marx in the nineteenth century. Marxism sought to purport the varied terrains in a new and unprecedented manner. Some of the cardinal apothegms include the philistinism. category system theory. the dialectical attack to history and of class a review to liberalism and capitalist economy. Alas. the Marxism theory was precluded in the 1990s. after the subjugation of people. economic instability. poorness and unhappiness under the communistic regulation became apparent. However. in the latter old ages of utmost economic and societal crisis. many bookmans one time once more engaged in the critical penetration of capitalist economy. merely as Marx did centuries ago. Marxism is the lone theory available. which seeks to wholly undermine capitalist economy. and expose its cardinal defects which capitalists try to avoid or deviate. but can non get the better of. However. it is non merely limited to the economic sciences. It presents extended account of societal and political dealingss and ways in which societies can find it. It offers a new construct of freedom. far more expansive and authorising than the traditional broad apprehension. In this essay I will critically measure the extent to which Marxism has contributed to an apprehension of the planetary political relations. The planetary political relations otensibly consists of many strands of scholar idea. analysis and theories. The acuurate and aware manner of explicating or set uping the different attacks would be to set them in two classs ; mainstreem and the remainder. The parenial mainstreem theories of international dealingss are pragmatism. liberalism. neo-realism and neo-liberalism. Other vail attacks portion much with mainstreetm but have been seen instead as develpoments or reviews or of it. frequently supplying a really distinguishable analysys. One of such is Marxism. Karl Marx developed new word picture with some linkages to the old theories. He offers a distinguishable attack and analysis of political. societal and economic life. Marx’s purpose was to expose the concealed truth about the universe of political relations. and to higlight to people that history. political relations and our societal life is non something that merely happens to us ( independently from our actions ) . but instead something wich happens with our presence and input. and hence can besides be transformed by us. We can take conditions or non we want to populate in a political-social system which we inherited. or to change it if we are dissatissfied with it. In this sense politics appears as a battle over procedure of social-self production. The ability to maneuver assorted procedure in one way or another. therefore shape the universe in whcih we live in. bring forth a societal alteration. Marxs expalins this as a dialectical or procedure orientated attack to understanding our history and political relations. The historical tensenesss and cirumstances opneded up assorted possibilities for histrions ( agents embodied in establishments ) . to bring forth a alteration. As worlds we have a freedom or in other words a corporate ability to determine ourselfs and our universe. This construct of freedom is broader and more empowering. than in the traditional broad thinging ( freedom of pick. our wants and needs in the market ) . Another of import apothegm of Karl Marx was historical philistinism. Harmonizing to Marx all life is invariably germinating. The development consequences from the clang of two opposing forces. The same must go on with peolpe. For centuries humanity experienced battles and clangs chiefly between 2 groups of people. In the acient universe it was the slaves and the Godheads. in the in-between the provincials ( breaker ) and the chap proprietors. and in capitalist economy the capitalists ( burgouise ) and the on the job category ( labor ) . Each historic epoch is different. has its ain dynamic an dlogic. based on a dominant manner of production: primitive. feudal system and eventually capitalist economy. For Marx each phase had its beginbing. center but besides an terminal. Marx besides belived that history is shaped by the material footing of society. He recognised base and superstructure division of society. He included instruction. political relations. faith. civilization. media to the superstructure. Underneeth the superstructure there lies base consisted of dealingss of production ( burguoise ) . and means of production everything which is owned by burguise needed for procution such as engineering for case ) . The base in Marx position. creates a peculiar type of political authorization which is largely concerned with protecting and advancing the involvements of the dominant category. The base can alter the history and the society. The cardinal deduction here is that the people who conctrol the stuff base ( the agency and forces of production ) . ulitmately control the society. political relations and the universe we live in. He recognised tha provinces as the marionette of a dominant category. Marx besides offered an extended and profound crtique to caqpitalism. imperialism and globaloization. He did non undermined it. It is just to state that Marx understood capitalims as the most productive theorey that every existed but however. he recognised that it was populating on a borrowed clip. For Marx the capitalist economy had cardinal defects as it was exploitatory and oppressive system. He examined the characteristics of capitalist economy. praised it for the competetive nature whihc would recsult and many spohisticated advancemnts. presented its defects and atributes. Karl Marx acknowledge that changeless impulse for net income wouldstimulate the invention procedure in assorted Fieldss such as engineering. media. medical specialty. Nevertheless. the necessity to bring forth higher and higher net income is the chief ruin of the globalisation and capitalist economy construct. As a consequence capitalist economy will travel from crisis to criris. and the society will go progressively unequal. Marx specified that capitalists will try to reslove one crisis. but as one job would be resolved. another would be created in its topographic point. We can clearly see how this procedure works taking for case the sub-prime loaning instance. As people did non hold adequate money. the demand failed. The net incomes of assorted cooperations besides failed ( as demand stimalates the supply and the monetary values ) . The Bankss offered creditd cards and loans. In bend people bought more goods. and contributed to the economic system. Everyone was happy in the procedure. the baks. the manufacturers and of class the on the job category who would now eventually purchase the goods and services they wanted. One job was solved. However. after a piece people did non run into their refunds. The Bankss had to impound their houses. autos. and other possesions as a consequence. Now Bankss were left with empty houses. and a immense shortage of money. The enterpreneours who invested and supplied Bankss with the money lost a huge ammount of money. many bankrupted. The revenue enhancements rates for the lower and the center were risen. and the rewards cut so the capitalists could one time once more do net income. Alas. less rewards and bigger revenue enhancements meant less dissposable income to pay for the new good and services. The capitalists one time once more have to conflict low net incomes. and happen new ways to remain in concern. The whole procedure reapeats itself. and no concrete and dependable solution is found. Marx besides crtiticises the globalisation procedure. The planetary capitalist economy means confederations of globalised capitalists. in order to make the concern together and derive more control. This facet of globalisation within the context of capitalist economy will besides turn out fatal. as the interconcetivity between assorted universe economic systems could potentiall convey day of reckoning to all if one falls ( we can see it go oning with the hyousing bubble explosion in the USA. ensuing from the sub-prime loaning. This crisis non merely affected the USA economic system. but spreaded to the remainder of the universe ensuing in the planetary economical crises and recession ) . Marxs posited that economic dealingss between people was nucleus to perfectly everything. The human needs for lodging. security. nutrient. thrust human interactions. Furthermore he stasted that private belongings divided the universe. The human doggedness to swap and to make net income was a recepie for distater. Capitalism develpse productive powers of human societies. but it does in instead undemocratic mode. through exploating and repressing the working category. As a consequence it distors the existent historiacal possibilities for societal self-government. Socially sceptered people under the capitalistic system. are prevented from gaining their full productive powers and basking their Fuller signifiers of freedom. Under tha capitalist economy ideaology supports the historiucally specific signifiers of societal activity and organisation. which appears to be necessarry and natural cosmopolitan conditions. It takes on the apperance of unchangable. and hard-wired withing the society. This is of class mistification. Within the context of capitalist economy. we are stray persons. therefore we confornt our societal envirometn non as corporate merchandise. We views it in footings of restraint on our single chocies. This manner of understanding societal dealingss as parennial. universal and natural prevents us from looking for possibilities of transmutation. or conceive ofing the alternate possible universes. Marxism divine hereafter analysis in the international dealingss arena. One of the most important was the crtitical theory. The critical theory was develpoed in 1930s by the frankfurt school of thoutgt. The term frnakfurt school refers to theoreticians originally assosiated with the Institute for Social Research at Frankfurt University. The early frnakfurt shcool tehorist Horkheimer and Adorno. began excessively lose religion in the radical potency of the proletaria. The besides saw how in the West Marxism was Marxism was being transformed into a doctrisn of economic determinism. In the face of these developments. they wanted to retain a critical modern critical and potentially progressive function for societal theory. but were wary of the Orthodox Marxisms’ preocupation with production and the coresponding accent on the historical function of the proletariat† The nucleus constructs of the Crtical theory are that critical societal theory should be directed at the entirety of society in its historical specificity. and besides that critical theory should better apprehension of society by incorporating all the major societal scientific disciplines. including geographics. economic sciences. sociology. history. political scientific discipline. anthropology. and psychological science. Critical theoriests developed a cardinal construct that the objectively valid signifiers of cognition could non be established independently of the societal context and societal norms. The theories which claimthat they provide nonsubjective truth are deeply deceptive. In their position idealogy ( or theories assosiated with it ) . are merely a belief that oue position is the truth. The manner in which things appera from the economic point of view of our consciousness. They asked a inquiry: can idealogy be proven. is it merely a manner of belief. After all idealogy is without conciousness. Is it just to state that things really are the manner they appear to me? The Frankfurt on the Main scholars went on explicating that in each historic period the dominant category sets the idealogy. In the late capitalist economy it is finally a burgouise idealogy. So the thoughts whic are the base of every facet of our society. ( for case our current work moral principle or current criterions of moral behavior ) do non hold to be cosmopolitan. merely and right. The Frankfurt on the Main bookmans have undermined the rationalist signifiers of scienfitic cognition. They claim that positivism and instrumental ground discourse denys the alternate values and future possible universes. Gramsci went a spot farther and develpoed a theory of hegemony as a signifier of political power whcih relied upon the consent than coercion. â€Å" In a hegemonic societal state of affairs. dominant groups ( categories. category fractions and their verious alliers ) articulate a societal vision which claims to function the intersts of all. and they use selective inducements to enroll junior spouses into their alliance and to didivde the disable oposition† He belived that in modern and progresss capitalistsic societies. hegemonic power might be promoted via media. instruction. art. literature every bit good as political parties. Under these conditions assorted groups might be led to accept to the powerof dominant groups. This action would do the usage of evidently opressive and coercive power unneeded. . He besides argued that hegemony should be continously chalenged by the civil society. In this manner he hoped that capitaslist civilization would be challenged by a counter-hegemonic political civilization. In short. he speculated that peolpe might get down to believe of their economic lives as holding a important political importance. Gramsci hoped that they might eventually oppugn the cosmopolitan capitalism’s structured separation of the ploitical fromt he economic facets of life. Another of import attack to planetary political relations. which derives from Marxism is the World systems theory. which was fathered by Immanueakl Wallestein in the seventiess. He traced the rise of the universe system to the sixteenth century Western Europe. whihc so spraded to the remainder of the universe. The E3urope feudal economic system suffered crisi and was transformed into capitalist economy. The west quikly utilisised their advantages and gained control and power. over the most of the universe economic system ( utilizing colonialism. bondage. imperialism and globalization together with the unjust trade ) . This actions resulted in an unequal develpoment. which alternatively of decreasing grows even further. Wallestein besides supported Marx’s old position that the suposely tree distnict countries of political relations. socio9logya nd economic sciences are in fact combined. In his authorship Wollestein provided a structural explenation of the planetary inequallity between provinces. He viewd it as a pyramis. At the top of the pyramid lye the nucleus provinces. Whuhc dominate the system. They all are in favor of capitalistic planetary economic system for their ain lift. Examples in todays universe inlude USA. Japan or Western Europe. Beneeth the nucleus provinces lys the semis include the BRIC states: Brasil. Rusia. India or China. At the really underside of the pyramid lies the peripher. the weakest of the provinces ( 3rd wolrd countires ) . They are normally rulled by the marionette goverments. subservient to the planetary capitalists. Ruled by the nucleus provinces. They will neer be given the standars of life they deserve through their inustry. They normally provide most of the natural resources and merchandises which are greedly devour by the nucleus. merely to recive hapless technoplogy and ocasional assistance in return. Peoples in the 3rd universe states ( peripherians ) are the chief victims of this opression. as they benefit less from the spohisticated engineering and invention that capitalist economy ( through thrust for net income ) brings approximately. This generates a cardinal innequality between the states. Decision The signifiers of Marxian critical theory ( farther develpoed by the Frankfurt school and by Gramsci ) . take us to a conlusion that the claims of scientific objectiveness assosiated with positivistiv theories of International dealingss are in fact deeply misdirecting. This attack differs a batch from the mainstreem realistic and liberalistsi attacks of the international dealingss. More late there has been a kind of Renaissance of Marxian international theory. It began during the 1990s and gained its impulse with the US war on panic after the 9/11/ . The American war on panic is seen by many as the twnety-first-centuray imperialism. Many bookmans return to Marxism wirtings and its ulterior developments. to happen it really accurate in the domain of the planetary political relations today. Undoubtedly. Marxism contributed in big agencies to our apprehension of the planetary political relations. It is the lone dependable beginning of the review of the capitalistis system we presently live in. Furthermore it explains and provides an analis of it. It stresses the mutuality of social-political- and economical facets of life. non merely within the domestic sphere but besides on the planetary graduated table. Marxisms highlights the planetary innequalities that the capitalist economy creates. demonstrates and unmasks the changeless development and mannipulation of the on the job category. It stresses the importance of all idvividuals. and their ability to transform and change the universe around us which includes our political system. current moral and ethical signifiers of behavior. the ecoonomic system and every other facet of our unrecorded. Marx and the ulterior bookmans influenced by his authorship. make non suggest a new clear system to replace capitalist economy. The givens are left to us. Within the construct of marism the idealogy can ever be altered. it shall non be seen as something parenially merely and just. It is besides seen as the tool of the higher category. who usess it to explicate the universe to the lower category and farther to command it. Therefore Marx saw idealogy merely a manner of explainign and understanding the universe instead than truth. This attack had large significance in the planetary political relations theory. It inspired new starnds of idea in international dealingss and of class met with a ferocious review of positive bookmans and minds.

Charles Robert Darwins Accomplishments

Charles Robert Darwin, the biologist, the psychologists, philosophist, founder of evolutionism who put forward the doctrine of biological evolution, which destroys all kinds of idealistic theology and species invariance. The idea of a gradual and continuous change in all species of plants and animals was expressed by many scientists long before Darwin. But it was Darwin who put forward a completely new hypothesis regarding living nature, generalizing individual evolutionary ideas into one, the so-called theory of evolution, which was the most widely spread in the world.He published â€Å" The Origin of Species by Natural Selection† in 1859. It should be noted that despite the huge popularity among the reading public, the idea of a gradual appearance in the living nature of new species for the scientific community of the time turned out to be so unusual that it was not accepted immediately.Darwin suggested that in competition among animal populations, only those will survive th at have properties of benefits under given specific conditions, allowing producing offspring as well. His theory is based on three principles: a) heredity and variability; b) the struggle for existence; c) natural selection.Variability is an inalienable property of all living things. Despite the similarity of living organisms of the same species, two completely identical individuals cannot be found within the population. This variation of features and properties creates the advantage of some organisms over others. A certain variability, or adaptive modification, is the ability of individuals of one species to react in an identical way to changes in the environment. Such group changes are not inherited, so they can not supply material for evolution.The core principle of natural selection has the following implications: Organisms have a tendency to overproduce while living space and food are limited so that creatures must fight for survival. Variants exist in individuals within the same population, and individuals with favorable variations that adapt to the environment will survive and multiply offspring, while individuals without favorable variability will be eliminated. His natural selection principle is based on the prevailing fusion genetic hypothesis at that timeHowever The modern theory of evolution the synthetic theory of evolution (STE), based on the synthesis of Darwins theory of natural selection with Mendels genetics, proves that mutations are the cause of variability abrupt changes in the hereditary structure of the organism that occur randomly do not solve the problem either.The question arises after so many years of the discovery that whether the theory of evolution is the only logical explanation for the development of life?Evolution is the development of life. Recognition that evolution is taking place is the only logical explanation for the observed regularities of modern biological diversity, which i s also confirmed by the paleontological chronicle and embryological data. The theory of evolution is an explanation of the mechanisms of evolution, there can be many theories of evolution

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Literature Search Public Speaking - Essay Example ge Journal of Research & Practice that public speaking skills are necessary for success as a professional and he cites several studies and paper which show that people who are good at public speaking have an advantage in the business world as compared to people who are not good public speakers. The writer then goes on to suggest that elementary public speaking courses should be as broad based as possible since students might not be able to take more elective courses in communications. With a similar focus on the academic side, Hansot (2004) shows how mastery of public speaking used to be taught in American schools as traditional rhetorical practice in the 19th century before it fell out of fashion. Students were taught a variety skills including control of their voice and body movements for effective communications. This was considered necessary for professional advancement as well as a part of the duties one might be expected to perform with an active public office. In opposition to the writers mentioned above, Pugsley (2005) takes a more practical approach while discussing public speaking and outlines the important parts of an effective presentation. The writer suggests that planning is the thing which makes a speech effective and successful while an ill planned speech would be incoherent despite scoring highly in other areas. A mastery of the topic under discussion as well as an enthusiastic approach is also a requirement for good speeches. As opposed to the writers mentioned above, the websites found under the topic of public speaking move directly to the heart of the matter and focus on practical advice rather than academic information. For example, Allyn & Bacon (2006) point out how nervousness is to be expected and it should not deter a person from having their say. McKinney (2005) gives very good advice on how a call to action as well as a humorous comment can leave the crowd happy and appreciative of a speech. Finally, the Toastmasters (2005) gives ten

Consumers decisions: Product attributes and branding

Consumers decisions: Product attributes and branding In this research, instant coffee purchasing is selected to study the buying decision of consumers. Three blind taste tests are experimented and proofing that participant tended to choose the popular brand of coffee. Surprisingly, people made different choices in each of the test. The result tells us that without knowing the brand name, their buying decisions are different when comparing with knowing the brand name. In conclusion, brand has a strong influence in consumers decisions. To better understand the blind taste tests, we executed a questionnaire survey immediately. As a result, the survey tells us taste is the most important factor in affecting their buying decisions whereas their second consideration would be price, brand, and influenced by advertisement. This giving an idea that except for the brand and taste, there are many factors should affecting the consumers buying decision. Contents 1. Introduction 1 2. Literature Review 2 2.1. Brand name 2 2.2. Brand Image 4 2.3. Linking brands to consumer perceptions of product 5 2.4. Consumer buying behavior and decision making 6 2.5. Customer satisfaction and loyalty 9 2.6. Product attributes 10 3. Research Methodology 12 3.1. Pilot study 15 4. Findings and discussions 16 4.1. Participants 16 4.2. Relationship of brand, taste and decision 17 4.3. Post-tests evaluation 20 4.4. Buying behavior 23 4.5. Discussions 26 5. Conclusion 28 5.1. Recommendations 28 5.2. Conclusion 29 6. References 30 7. Appendix 33 7.1. Annex: The Blind Test and Questionnaire 33 Lists of Tables and Diagrams Table 4.1 Years of being Nescafe supporters 16 Table 4.2 The participants preference of instant coffee in Test A 17 Table 4.3 The participants preference of instant coffee in Test B 18 Table 4.4 The participants preference of instant coffee in Test C 19 Table 4.5 The No. of people continuing to purchase Nescafe coffee after trying the blind taste tests 20 Table 4.6 The recommendation of coffee to friends after trying the blind taste tests 21 Table 4.7 Satisfaction of Nescafe before the blind taste tests 22 Table 4.8 Satisfaction of Nescafe after the blind taste tests 23 Table 4.9 The factors affecting consumers buying decision of instant coffee 24 Keywords Branding, Brand image, Brand equity, Consumer buying behavior, Consumer buying decision, Customer satisfaction and loyalty, Product attributes Introduction Over the past few decades, a considerable number of studies have been made on the relationship of branding and consumer buying behavior (Fournier, 1994; Keon, 1983), i.e. how the consumer buying behavior affected by branding. Many companies devote lots of money and manpower to build up images for their brands. That is the reason why many studies have focused on this field. In this research will be figured out which factor, brand name or product attributes, plays a critical role in affecting consumer buying decision. In the economists normal approach, price is used as the main tool to explain the consumer buying behavior (Becker, 1996). We carry out blind taste tests and also conduct a questionnaire to find out the impact of branding on consumers preferences. . Literature Review This literature review is going to analysis what has been done in investigating the relationship among brand, consumer buying decision and product attributes. Such information will be digested and modified to be applied to instant coffee purchasing in the Hong Kong market. Brand name In recognition of the growing coffee culture that is sweeping Hong Kong, different tastes of coffee have been rolled out on the market. For example, Nescafe has newly released a new series of coffee Latte in which the image is totally different from the original Nescafe coffee. Old Town coffee has introduced a new series called white coffee. Why do they give new brand names for the new products? Why do they have different images? Is there any advantage for them to do so? According to Armstrong and Kotler (1999), brands can be described as a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of these, which identifies the maker or seller of a product or service. Later, Olins (2000) gives a supplement to the definition of brand. He suggests that brand is a device that helps differentiating products from different sellers, without clear branding, in some fields, we literally could not tell one product or service from another. By using brand names, consumers can easily distinguish products from different sellers. Brand Image In the words of Keller (1998), marketers can build up an image for the product to draw customers attention so as to induce more sales (Keller, 1998). Randall (1997) says Brand image is the whole image of the brand existing in the minds of consumers. It is the total information that the consumers have received about the brand. Some scholars think that the brand image can influence consumers buying decisions. Furthermore, Ogilvy (1983) suggests that consumers do not buy products; rather they buy products with a personality. Ogilvy (1983) also suggests the fact that a brand can have a personality or image reflecting that people not only want the basic function offered by the product, but also psychological benefits. If a brand image matches with an individuals image, he/she will purchase that product and may stick to that brand in future (brand loyalty) (Levine, 2003). From the above statements, it seems that consumers are concerned more about the brand image rather than product attribu tes. In the research, we will use the product of instant coffee to test the validity of the above statements. After reviewing the sections of 2.1 and 2.2, we can say that there is an intimate relationship among brand name, brand image and the consumers. Linking brands to consumer perceptions of product In the research, we will investigate how consumers make buying decisions. Perception of a product is crucial in making the buying decision; therefore, it is necessary to find the linkage between brand and consumer perceptions. Olins (2000) suggests that people can have a relationship with a brand: they have an immense emotional content and inspire loyalty beyond reason. Besides, Keller (1998) suggests that what distinguishes a brand from its unbranded commodity is the sum of consumers perceptions and feelings about the products attributes and performance, brand name and what it stands for and the company associated with the brand. In the past, there were only a few instant coffee brands available in the market. In recent yeas, a lot of new instant coffee brands appear in the market, such as Indocafe and Old Town coffee. The traditional branding strategy which has emphasized on product offerings and associated functional and utilitarian benefits is no longer workable in the market. People are now paying more attention to the brand (Levine, 2003). Therefore, it is no wonder many companies create a strong and distinctive brand image for their products so as to differentiate himself from other competitors (Keller, 1998). Advertising is widely used by the companies to build up a brand image. In Hong Kong, many coffee brands have been advertised on TV and in magazine, such as Maxwell house, Nescafe and Mr. Brown. Most studies have found that there are inter-relationships among brand, advertisement and consumers buying decisions (MacKenzie et al., 1986). Besides, that the affective and cognitive-based attitudes towar ds the brand can affect the consumers buying decisions (Homer et al., 1992). Advertising is the primary device used to build the image of a brand and most of the customers usually rely on advertising messages when they make an infrequent purchase for an unfamiliar product (Dowling, 2001).Well-established brands attract increased preference and usage (East, 1997), produce greater emotional ties (Biel, 1993), and boost trust and loyalty (Fournier, 1994). If the statement is true, it indicates that customers perception of products derive from marketing effort such as brand images and brand differentiation in addition to the physical characteristics of the product. What about the product quality? Can product quality influence the perception of product? Consumer buying behavior and decision making In our study, consumer buying decision is our key focus. We will focus on how the consumers make their buying decisions in purchasing instant coffee. We want to know which factors, brand or product attributes, influences most in the process of buying decision making of consumers. Therefore, we must understand the consumer buying behavior and how they make the buying decisions. In the past, consumers were more concerned with a products function- efficiency, reliability, value-for-money, durability and convenience todays customers are prepared to pay more for a stylish product as they become more affluent and visually sophisticated (Henley Centre, 1989). It is no wonder companies put much effort on packaging, product design and advertising. In the words of Bayley (1989), the ambience, the layers of imagery, the texture, the decoding- all of these are vested interests leading to the only rationale: a purchase. Consumer buying behavior refers to the buying behavior of final consumers, individuals and households who buy goods and services for personal consumption (Armstrong et al., 1999). Consumers have to make decisions when there is more than one choice. However, how do the consumers make their buying decisions? Foxall (1980) suggests that consumers will make the buying decisions according to perception, personality, motivation and attitudes. He says that consumer behavior is a process of learning and it depends on how you perceive the product. The process is modified according to the customers past experience and the objectives he or she has set (Foxall, 1980). Besides, Foxall (1980) also suggests that consumers personality and self-image is important in studying consumer buying decision as he believes that consumers only choose products that are consistent with their perceptions of themselves. By using Foxalls (1980) idea, it is not difficult to understand the relationship between brand and consumer buying decision. Once the brand image and consumers image is matched, consumer will purchase that product. Besides, Foxall (1980) also claimed that consumer buying decision is motivated by something more than awareness. It depends on the consumers needs and drives, his tastes and aspirations, plus his attitudes, personality and social environment (Foxall, 1980). Furthermore, Foxall (1980) says that attitudes and buying decision are related and each may influence the other, however, they are not always entirely consistent. Customer satisfaction and loyalty Although our key focus of the research is how the consumers make buying decisions in purchasing coffee, customer satisfaction will also be investigated. In our study, satisfaction refers to the situation when consumers expectations are matched by perceived performance (Blackwell et al., 2001). After purchasing a product, consumers will have a post-purchase evaluation (Foxall, 1980). Consumers will continue to purchase the product if they are satisfied with it. It is called loyalty. Sometimes, they may recommend it to their relatives and friends. In the research, the blind tests will be used to find out how the consumers perceive the product, that is, to see if consumers can recognize the taste of the brand that they have chosen. Previous study has found that customer satisfaction has a positive effect on loyalty and they will repurchase the product again (Oliver, 1997; Mittal et al., 2001). If the consumers are satisfied with the taste of coffee in the blind tests but it is not the brand the consumers used to buy, we can say that brand influences consumers much and the consumers only loyal to the brand but not the product itself. Product attributes According to Armstrong and Kotler (1999), product attributes can be defined as something that can deliver the benefits offered by the product and can add value to the customers. In the words of Keller (1998), product attributes are the ingredients necessary for performing the product or service function sought by consumers. They refer to a products physical composition and are what determine the nature and level of product performance (Keller, 1998). It can be further characterized according to important and optional features, either necessary for a product to work or for allowing customization and more versatile personalized usage (Keller, 1998). In the research, we will focus on the study of instant coffee and we will regard taste as the most important attributes of coffee. Some studies have carried out in which consumers perceive the products they buy and the brands they regularly choose. Taste is used to determine the effect of brand identification on consumers reactions to and evaluations of products (Allison Uhl, 1964; Makens, 1961). The studies conclude that Participants in general did not appear to be able to discern the taste differences among the various brands, but apparently labels and their associations did influence their evaluations. To sum up the literature review, many studies (Allison Uhl, 1964; Keon, 1983; Makens, 1961) have shown that consumers are influenced by branding. However, to what extent will the consumers make their buying decisions according to product attributes? The research will find out the answer. Research Methodology I used the technique of triangulation (White, 2000) in my research in which two techniques, blind taste test and questionnaire, were used. Before conducting the actual survey, I randomly selected 82 people outside a supermarket in Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong and asked them if they had the habit of buying instant coffee. 39 of them stated that they buy instant coffee regularly but 18 of them said that they do not drink instant coffee. In the 39 people, 33 (84.6%) of them said that they usually buy Nestlà ©s instant coffee, Nescafe. 4 (10.3%) of them buy Maxwell House instant coffee and 2 (5.1%) of them buy Old Town instant coffee. I invited the 33 Nescafe instant coffee buyers to do the blind taste test and questionnaire as they were the majority (84.6%) of the respondents. I believed choosing Nescafe instant coffee buyers to be the sample was more representative as they represent the majority of the coffee drinkers that I have asked. However, only 30 of them agreed to participate in the test. The 30 Nescafe instant coffee buyers were my sample population. The sample consisted of 8 males and 22 females who have the habit of buying instant coffee on their own. The blind taste test was carried out in order to find out how the consumers choose coffee. The test was divided into three parts and each part would have 10 participants. In the three blind taste tests, Tsit Wing instant coffee (TW), Maxwell House instant coffee (MH) and Nescafe instant coffee (NC) were used. I chose the three coffees as their price is more or less the same. Every participant had tried the Tsit Wing instant coffee (TW), Maxwell House instant coffee (MH) and Nescafe instant coffee (NC) before. In Test A, three cups of different coffee were given without brand labels. NC was the brand that the sample population used to buy. The participants were asked to taste the coffee and choose one that they would purchase. The data collected in the Test A would serve as a base reference. If the participants like the taste of NC, they will also choose the NC in the test. In Test B, three different cups of coffee were given. Each cup of coffee had a label showing the brand of coffee. The aim of the Test B was to see if there was any difference between Test A and Test B. If they really like the taste of NC, the results in the Test A and B would be consistent. If the results in the two tests are not consistent, it shows that brand influence consumers decision. Test C was carried out to determine if the consumer buying decision was independent of the brand name. The Test C was the same as Test B, except the name of the coffee brand were labeled wrongly. I labeled the cup of MH as TW, the cup of TW as NC and the cup of NC as MH. By comparing with the result obtained in the three tests, we hoped to find out which factors, brand or taste, has a greater influence on the consumers. If the data obtained in the Test A does not match with the data obtained in the Test B, it tells that brand has an influence on consumers decisions. The reason is in Test A, the participants only know the taste of the coffee and they can only choose the coffee according to the taste of coffee. In Test B, however, the participants know both the taste and brand. If their decisions are different, that means the brand affects their buying behavior. For the Test C, the three different coffees were used again. However, their brand names were labeled wrongly this time. Comparing the result obtained in this test to that of in the Test B, if the result has a big difference, that means the brand has a greater influence than the taste on the decision of participants. Besides, questionnaire (Annex 7.1) was also used to obtain data. The questionnaire, used immediately after the blind taste tests, consisted of five questions with choices given. Pilot study The pilot study made me realize that what I need is to observe their buying behavior which cannot be asked but observed. Therefore, I decided to do the blind taste tests and questionnaire instead of doing an interview which allowed me to focus on measuring the influence of brand and taste on the consumers decisions. Afterwards, I decided to carry a three blind taste tests with three groups of people. I enjoy to take this chance tend to do all blind taste test is they will remember the taste of the coffee in the test, and finally affect their choice in the next following tests. Findings and discussions Participants Of the total number of 30 respondents, 8 (26.7%) were males and 22 (73.3%) were females. All of them were NC consumers. More than a half people had 1 to 3 years NC purchasing experience and 70% of them had at least 1 year purchasing experience. From the data, we can assume that some participants are experienced in purchasing instant coffee and the results obtained from them are valuable to discuss and analyze. Relationship of brand, taste and decision In the research, blind taste tests were used to find out how the consumer made decisions regarding brand and taste in purchasing instant coffee. Three tests were carried out. In each test, participants were given three cups of different coffee. In Test A, three cups of coffee without brand name were given. In Test B, brand name was given to each cup of coffee. In Test C, brand names were given but placed wrongly on each coffee. In Test A, three cups of coffee without label were given to participants to taste. Surprisingly, the result was not consistent with our expectation. In other words, taste was the only reason for their choices in the Test A. The result told us that without knowing the brand name, their preferences were different when comparing with knowing the brand name. In this test, the result was changed because the participants knew the brand name when comparing with the result of the Test A. There was a 30% increase in the NC and a 30% decrease in the MH. The data showed that the brand really influenced participants when deciding the coffee. In Test C, the participants had to taste three cups of different coffee in which the brand labels were placed wrongly. The result was very close to that of Test A. That means they chose as if just chose by the taste only. It gave us a hint that with a different label on the cups, their choices were different. What we can conclude is that the brand plays an important role in affecting buying decision of participants. Post-tests evaluation After the three blind taste tests, the participants in Test A and C were told about the correct branding of the coffee they had tried. All the participants were asked if they would continue to purchase the NC after trying the tests. As shown in the Table 4 .5, only 30% of the participants would firmly say yes. Half of them had a second thought of their decisions. It told us that they started to think about their perceptions of NC coffee. It implies that the participants will also consider the taste when purchasing instant coffee. Participants were asked to choose one coffee to recommend to their friends after trying the blind taste tests. The result was shown in Table 4 .6. The result was very interesting that about half of them recommend NC to their friends while another half suggested MH, was most people voted due to the taste in the Test A. It implies that branding and taste also have a strong influence in consumers buying behavior. Participants were asked if they were satisfied with the NC. Before the blind taste test, over 40% of the participants were satisfied with the NC. However, after the blind taste tests, only 17% were satisfied with it and there was 13% of participants were dissatisfied. From the result in Fig. 4 .7 and Fig. 4 .8, we can see that the participants were influenced by the blind test. We can say that beside the factors related to the products, there are some other factors may affect our buying decision. Buying behavior In the research, participants were asked immediately after the blind taste tests about how they made the buying decision when purchasing instant coffee. Factors affecting buying decision In the research, the participants were asked to give factors they thought were influential in making the buying decision in the questionnaire. The answers were shown in the Table 4 .9. In Fig. 4 .9, it shows the most influential factor affecting buying decision. 63% of the participants regard Taste was the most influential (Table 8.1), 13% voted for Influenced by advertisement, 10% for Brand image, 7% for Price and 7% for Word-of-mouth. Nobody voted for brand in the questionnaire. Comparing to the results obtained in the blind tests, the results were inconsistent. In the blind tests, it was found that the influence of the brand was greater than the influence of the taste. In Fig. 4 .10, it shows the top three influential factors affecting buying decision regarding to instant coffee purchasing. Nearly one-third of the whole population voted for the Taste, the second one was Price (20%) and the third were Brand (13.3%) and Influenced by advertisement (13.3%). The Fig. 4 .10 shows that Price is also an important factor in making the buying decision. The data gives us an idea that beside brand and taste, there are many factors should be considered in making the buying decision. Discussions According to the three blind taste tests and the questionnaires done by the participants, we can see that the brand influence was strong to the participants. In the Test A, participants did not know the brand but the taste. They chose the coffee according to the taste. More than 50% of the NC buyers chose MH. However, when the brands were labeled on each cup of coffee in Test B, 50% of the NC buyers choose NC. In Test C, three cups of coffee were given with the wrong brand labels, the result showed that participants tend to choose coffee according to the brand name as 60% of the NC buyers chose MH which was labeled with a NC label. The three test results indicate that brand affects consumers decisions and which is supported by Olins (2000) and Keller (1998). Olins (2000) suggests that brand helps people to differentiate products from different sellers. Besides, Keller (1998) suggests that brand is an external aspect of product and it can affect the purchase or consumption procedure. Besides, the participants were asked if they were satisfied with the NC before and after the blind taste tests, Over 40% of the participants were satisfied with NC. However, after the blind taste tests, the number of satisfied people decreased and there was 13% of participants dissatisfied with the NC. From the results, we can see that the participants were influenced by the blind test and there are some other factors may affect our preferences. As we mentioned in the literature review, consumers will buy the product again if they are satisfied with the product (Foxall, 1980). From the results, we can see that the brand influences consumer buying decisions a lot. From the data in Table 4 .9, there were 63% of participants chose Taste as the most influential. However, nobody voted brand as the most important factor. Compared that to the results obtained in the blind taste tests, in which brand had a strong influence in consumers decisions, there is a contradiction. The inconsistency shows that people do not understand what influences their behavior very well. Conclusion Recommendations The result obtained from the tests and the questionnaire is not consistent in some way. If the answers from participants are truly reflecting their preferences, the obtained result should be consistent. So we should not trust the result given from the research and we should be critical in reading other research data in the future. Furthermore, if it is feasible, we may observe their actual buying behavior after trying the blind taste tests over a period of time in order to get an accurate result. Conclusion In this research, we carry out three blind taste tests and find out that participants tended to choose coffee according to the brand name. 60% of one of the instant coffee brand supporters chose another brand of coffee which is wrongly labeled as their favorite coffee brand by me. Surprisingly, 80% of them do not choose their favorite coffee brand in another test when the labels are gone. The only factor which affects their decisions if the labels are gone is the taste of the coffee. In other words, taste is the only reason for their choices if no labels are provided. The result tells us that without knowing the brand name, their buying decisions are different when comparing with knowing the brand name. The result shows us that brand had a strong influence in consumers decisions. I conduct a questionnaire immediately after the blind taste tests. The statistical result shows that taste is the most important factor affecting their buying decision while price, brand, and influenced by advertisement come second, third and fourth respectively. The data gives us an idea that beside brand and taste, there are many factors should be considered in making the buying decision. References Allison, R. I., Uhl, K. P. (1964). Influence of beer brand identification on taste perception. Journal of Marketing Research, 1, pp. 36-9. Armstrong, G.., Kotler, P. (1999). 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